


We Meet Again

by Kiraly



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Dreamworld, Kissing, M/M, Magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 10:37:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17641169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiraly/pseuds/Kiraly
Summary: Onni is building his dreamworld defenses on the journey to Saimaa. They still aren't enough to keep someone out.





	We Meet Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Unlos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unlos/gifts).



> Happy Chocolate Box, Unlos! I hope you enjoy this treat. :)

“I told you we would meet again.”

Reynir might be right, but he has no call to sound so smug over it. Onni glares at him and then goes back to his work. He needs to fortify his dream space before he goes into Saimaa; clearly, he hasn’t done a good enough job yet, because certain Icelandic mages can still get in.

Reynir isn’t letting the conversation go, though. “Aren’t you wondering why I’m here?”

Onni sighs. “I’m sure you’ll tell me.” Maybe he’ll get lucky and wake up before he has to suffer through too much conversation.

“I know you’re planning something stupid. Or—okay, maybe not  _ stupid  _ stupid,” Reynir amends, catching the furious look Onni directs at him. “But dangerous. You said you’re going to Saimaa! But I saw that letter you wrote Lalli, I can’t read Finnish but it doesn’t say  _ Saimaa  _ anywhere, it says  _ Keuruu.  _ That’s the place you came from, right? That safe military base. I got a map of Finland, I  _ checked,  _ and that’s nowhere near Saimaa. You’re not going somewhere safe.”

The branches Onni has been weaving together falter; he has to shake his head to clear it. “Nowhere is really safe,” he says. But he can’t shake the realization that Reynir has guessed too much, that he may find a way to tell Lalli who will guess even more. “And so what? It’s not like there’s anything you can do. You’re in Iceland. I left.”

Reynir settles onto the rocks next to Onni, not quite touching. “You’re right—there’s not a lot I can do from Iceland. But that doesn’t mean anything. There are plans in motion. We won’t make you do this alone, you know.” He plucks a stick from the ground and rests the end on the open patch of dirt by the water’s edge. “And as for why I came here...there are a few things I can do to help.” 

Onni turns to look at him fully then, startled by the new note of confidence in his voice. Reynir smiles at him, digs the stick into the dirt, and starts to draw. “I’ve been going to mage school,” Reynir says, drawing lines that cross each other and branch out into a circle, “and I’ve been learning a lot. I don’t have that much experience yet, but,” he finishes the rune, and light flares through it, “I’ve learned some neat defensive spells.” The light settles into a steady glow, and Reynir stands, steps a few paces away, and starts to draw again. Wordlessly, Onni follows him.

Reynir works his way all around Onni’s dream space, placing runes seemingly at random around the perimeter. Sometimes, he stands on the solid stones or wooden boards that Onni uses; other times, he walks right onto the water of the dream sea. The runes seem to glow just as brightly no matter where he puts them. 

When he’s done, Reynir returns to the spot where he found Onni originally and sinks down, patting the stone beside him in invitation. Onni joins him, wary, wondering what this all means. This is a side of Reynir he hasn’t seen before. He expects an explanation to come, but this time Reynir just looks at him, still smiling. Waiting.

This time, Onni gives in. “Why are you doing this? Why not just let me go?”

The corner of Reynir’s mouth twists down; it’s a sad smile now. “You remember I said I came here to do a few things?”

Onni nods.

“Well, that was one,” Reynir says, gesturing at the scattered glowing runes. “And...this is the other.” He reaches out to touch Onni’s face, hand warm even through the leather of his glove. His lips are warm too. They press soft against Onni’s, a question or maybe a farewell. Onni’s heart is beating loud in his chest, a trapped bird fluttering. He knows, suddenly, that if he allows this to be their goodbye, it will be. Reynir will go, and Onni will stay, and maybe the protections will work or maybe they won’t. And Onni knows, too, that if he lets it end here, it won’t matter either way.

Reynir pulls away. His hand drops. Onni reaches up to catch it. “Wait.”

There’s nothing soft about the second kiss, fierce as it is with long-buried desire. This time when they part, Reynir’s smile is back in full force. He cradles Onni’s face in his hands as though it is something precious, as though Onni is worth chasing after, worth saving. And as an answering smile arrives on his own face, Onni knows what they have is precious indeed.

“So...you’ll wait before you go off to do your dangerous thing?” Reynir asks.

Onni sighs, nods. “I’ll wait.” A few more days won’t hurt. The light of his dream space is changing, going thin and pale as it does when morning draws near. They don’t have long now. But even so, he asks, “Will you stay?”

Reynir links their fingers together. “I’ll stay.”


End file.
